Fire and Water
by emilys9
Summary: How I think the books should have gone starting with Catching Fire and how Finnick and Katniss form a relationship. I sort of changed it up a little so less people die and starting from 13 everything will be different...kind of. So I'm thinking during the Games it'll be Finnick's POV and in 13 it'll alternate between him and Katniss. Read and review!
1. Beginning of the End

1.

I can't say I'm surprised. I mean, it's like I can't get away from the Capitol. Ever since I won the Games eight years ago, they've singled me out. Once I think life might be getting back to normal they call be back for another "assignment".

When my name got called a few hours ago, I felt almost...relieved...in a way. Like I was finally free. Which is ironic because the fact that I'm in this train right now shows that I, along with all the other tributes, am still a slave of the Capitol.

Lars and Pearl, our mentors, open the door of my room.

"Ready to watch the reapings?" Pearl asks, her guilt obvious in her voice and on her face. I nod, then follow them to join Mags and our escort Aria.

I don't really pay attention until District 4 is up. I'm called. After I walk up Aria calls the female tribute. Annie is called. She starts singing something under her breath as she walks toward the stage. Aria asks for volunteers. Mags volunteers. The fear in my eyes that the announcer points out turns to anger after nobody volunteers for Mags. No one knows what to make of a seventy-two year old woman going in the arena.

Mags pats my hand. "It had to be done," she says. I shoot her a grateful look.

Johanna Mason gets called from 7. My heart sinks. I know almost all the victors to some extent, but Johanna is the closest thing I have to a friend. A loud, obnoxious friend anyway.

And then there's District 12. Katniss, as the only female victor, gets called. Then Haymitch gets called. And Peeta volunteers. How touching. The star-crossed lovers from District 12. Peeta's pretty convincing but Katniss seems kind of...scripted. At least in her interviews in the Capitol. But then again, who's themselves in the Capitol?

Aria sniffles. "It's so sad! Now they can't get married!" I glance over at her, kind of amused that she believes their little act.

After lunch we start going over strategies. How we're going to present ourselves for our interview, what we're going to do in private training.

"Obviously, Finnick, you'll use the trident," Lars says, "But be sure to become acquainted with other means of defense." Oh yeah, good tip. He's probably around thirty, but he acts like he's the only victor on this train. Which he's not.

"You need to form an alliance," Pearl says softly. Her normally blue eyes are red and puffy. She's regretting that she didn't volunteer for Mags. I kind of do too.

"I'm so sorry, I know I should have—" but Mags cuts her off.

"You have your family to worry about," she says with a smile. For facing certain death, Mags has incredible presence of mind. Unlike me at the moment.

We spend the rest of the day going over more meaningless information and then head to sleep.

The next morning, we arrive at the Capitol.


	2. Nothing's Changed

2.

I survey myself in the mirror. Appearance-wise, the stylists didn't alter me that much. "You're already perfect! Like nothing's changed in the past eight years!" Pippa had bubbled. I had smiled then, channeling the Capitol Finnick.

Now that I'm thinking about what she said. Nothing's changed. Nothing, but ultimately everything, has changed in the past eight years. I'm lost in my thoughts when Mags hobbles over.

"Look at this fancy cane!" she exclaims, gesturing toward the golden cane that looks as if it's made of rope.

"Cool," I reply. "I still can't believe they're making me wear this thing! It barely even covers my—" Mags holds up hers hands, a twinkle in her eyes.

"Don't need to know that," she laughs. "I'm going to take a nap before the parade."

The parade doesn't start for another hour so I kill some time by pacing back and forth in the lobby. I spin around again when I hear a familiar voice.

"Nice net, Odair." I turn and see Johanna Mason smirking. I grin.

"Hey Jo!" I smash her with a hug just because I know she hates it. She shoves me away roughly.

"If you ever do that again I'll rip your throat out!" she scowls at me.

"Duly noted!" I reply cheerfully. She makes the same threat every year. _Only this time she could actually do it_, I think, but quickly shove that thought out of my mind.

"I hate my costume," she growls. It resembles a tree, and she's wearing a headdress that looks like a pile of leaves. I resist the urge to laugh.

"Wish I'd gotten your stylist," she continues, plucking a leaf off her head. "You look great!" Ah, sarcasm. Two can play at this game.

"Yeah, you should try my costume on. You can barely feel it's there... almost like you're wearing nothing at all!" She laughs.

"In your dreams Odair. You going down to the Tribute Center now?" I nod.

Walking into the Tribute Center, I see a lot of familiar faces.

I spot a bowl of sugar cubes next to the stable. I grab a handful and pop one in my mouth. For some reason, I love sugar just as much as I did when I was a kid.

"Hey look, there's that Everdeen girl," Johanna jerks her head in Katniss's direction. She's pretty much glued to her chariot's horse, being an antisocial.

"Oh yes," I reply, my voice dropping down to a purr, "My mentor says we should become...allies." I raise my eyebrow suggestively.

She chuckles. "Go get 'em, Odair."

This is going to be fun.


	3. Fire Meets Water

3.

I saunter past the other victors to the coal black horses that belong to the District 12 chariot. I'm right behind Katniss now. I pop another sugar cube in my mouth and crunch it extra loud. She turns around, a look of surprise on her face.

"Hello Katniss," I say, as if we've known each other for years when we have, in fact, just met.

"Hello Finnick," she replies, her gray eyes looking uneasy.

"Want a sugar cube?" I offer, showing her my full hand. "They're for the horses, but they've got years to eat sugar, whereas you and I, well, if we see something sweet, we better get it fast." Well, that's the truth.

"No thanks, but I'd love to borrow your outfit sometime," she says. My second compliment in half an hour!

"I'd say the same for you," I tell her, looking at her scary costume that involves glowing orange and purple. "What happened to all the pretty little girl dresses?" After a moment's hesitation, I lick my lips a little as a joke. But she doesn't look amused. She looks freaked.

"I outgrew them," she says, looking more and more uncomfortable.

"It's too bad, this whole Quell thing," I say, fingering the collar of her costume. What's this stuff made of? "You could have made out like a bandit in the Capitol. Money, jewels..."

She sighs. "I don't like jewels, and I have more money than I need. What do you spend all yours on, Finnick?"

"Oh, I haven't dealt with something as common as money in years," I tell her truthfully.

"Then how do you pay for the pleasure of your company?" she asks. Ouch. I feel my face twitch a little like it always does when I'm uncomfortable. But I quickly bounce back.

"With secrets," I whisper, then tilt my head down so our nose are almost touching. "How about you, Girl on Fire? Have any secrets worth my time?"

She looks so uncomfortable I have to stop myself from laughing. "No, I'm an open book. Everyone seems to know my secrets before I do."

I smirk to myself. What secrets could she possibly have? But I agree with her anyway. "Unfortunately, I think that's true." I spot her fake boyfriend watching us curiously.

"Peeta's coming," I tell her, walking away. But then I decide to add a hint of bitterness. "So sorry about your wedding. I bet that must be devastating for you." With that I walk off, not stopping to look back at her stormy face.

"How was it?" Johanna asks me as I come back.

"Well, I think she officially hates me," I tell her, my voice reverting back to normal.

She laughs. "Don't worry, it happens to the best of us," she replies.

And then we're both laughing.


	4. Still Have It

4.

After the parade Mags and I head back up to our room to change. I hate this building. I've been here six times as a mentor, and now, twice as a tribute. I go to wash off all my frustration in the shower.

One thing the Capitol has going for it is the showers. They're amazing. I've been here so much I memorized a pattern of buttons to make it smell like home. It's like salt, seaweed, and cold ocean breeze. I press the smell-like-the-sea button (that's what I named it). I shake the water off myself and just air dry for a while. I don't really care if I'm dripping. In fact, there hasn't been much to care about these days.

* * *

Mags and I go to the Training Center right after breakfast. I look around. Only a handful of people are present. Atala begins her speech right on time anyway. As she goes on and on about the rules and whatnot, I can see nobody's actually paying attention. And why would they? They've all done this before.

We all break up and go to different stations. I head to the trident station. Everyone knows each others' fighting skills, so there's no point in hiding it. The instructor greets me.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Odair."

"You too," I reply politely, although I'm slightly annoyed at what he said. If it was just a normal day, in a normal place, it would be fine. But it's not. It's the Hunger Games. And me being here pretty much means me dying.

I lift a trident. Perfectly proportioned, and not too heavy. In a sudden movement it leaves my hand and finds the chest of the dummy.

He smiles. "You still have it."

I grin. I guess it's like swimming. Once you learn it, it always sticks with you.

After a few more rounds with the trident I head over to the archery station with Mags. I've never actually used a bow before, and I'm surprised by how hard it is.

"Okay, so you pull it like this," the trainer shows me. I position my hand and let the arrow go, but instead of it going forward, the end of it bounces back into my face.

"What was that?" I ask, aghast.

He laughs. "It takes some getting used to." Yeah, I can tell.

Later I catch Katniss making some knots and sneak up behind her to help with a seaman-loop-around knot.

She frowns. "What was that for?"

"Just trying to help," I mutter. To show how deeply offended I am, I make a noose and pretend to hang myself. She rolls her eyes. I laugh inwardly.

After going through the knife throwing class, I introduce Mags to Katniss and we all hang out at the fishing station for a while.

* * *

The next two weeks are spent going from station to station. I learn some new things. I try to be social with all the victors. Even Wiress and Beetee, who show me how to know if there's a force field around. Even Katniss, who exchanges an hour of archery lessons for an hour of trident lessons.

And it's hard. On the whole, I don't hate these people. And some I like. So how am I going to be able to kill them?


	5. A Plan is Hatched

5.

I'm in my room with Haymitch, Mags, and both tributes from 3,6,7,8 and 11. My arm is twitching. Not a good sign.

"So, are we clear?" Haymitch asks everyone. No one responds for at least five minutes.

"So why does it have to be her?" Johanna snaps finally.

"Because she's the face of the revolution," Haymitch explains. "We need her to be the Mockingjay."

"It sounds too risky," Seeder says quietly. Murmurs of agreement ring out through the room.

"But think of what it could do for the districts!" he says excitedly. "We could finally be free of this." By 'this', I wonder if he means the Games, or the oppression, or just hating life.

"Well..." Mags trails off, unsure. More silence. People are staring at their feet. Thinking. Waiting.

"Just think," Haymitch urges, his gray eyes looking unusually bright. "Of what this could do."

A few moments later Chaff's voice rings out through the room. "I'm in! Come on you fools!" he shouts.

"Me too," Blight says, staring at Johanna. "Fine!" she snarls.

After a few moments of whispering with Wiress, Beetee raises his eyes. "We will join your cause."

The morphlings are both in.

Woof says no. "I'm not against you, but I'm not with you," he says simply. Haymitch nods.

"Seeder?" he asks.

She shakes her head. "I'm sorry, but I want to die with dignity."

Cecelia nods. "I agree. I would, but I just can't have my kids see me do that on television."

Haymitch, in a rare act of sensitivity, smiles. "We're going to try to get you all out if we can."

Mags suddenly walks forward. "I'm with you." She smiles at me sadly.

"Finnick?" Haymitch asks.

I look him square in the eye. "I'm with the Mockingjay."


	6. For the Last Time

6.

I walk down to the Training Center. I'm over an hour early. Enough time for 2 and 3 to finish. I pace back and forth again before I hear heavy footsteps that can only be Johanna's.

"Couldn't wait to get down here either?" she scowls.

I nod shakily, then start my pacing again.

"You know, there's such a thing as talking," she says sarcastically, then gets more serious. "What's going through your head?"

I pause for a moment, then just say it. "It's just weird, knowing that no matter what happens later, this is the last time I'm going to be here."

She looks at me, a flicker of sadness running across her face. "You know you can win this," she says.

"I know I can," I tell her, "But even without the whole rebellion, I don't know if I would have wanted to." I don't tell her how life isn't meaningful anymore. There's no real joy. Only pain.

"I'm kind of the same way," she admits after a moment. "I might be able to do it, but I sort of feel like I don't deserve it. Because...because I'm not a good person. I killed people. And there's no reversing that. And the Capitol tries to make it seem like it was honorable and that I deserve praise, when the truth is, I really just deserve death."

I've known Johanna since she won four years ago but I have never seen this side of her. Sure, we've had heart-to-hearts but this is something else. We're finally saying what we really feel.

After a moment, she asks me "So what are you going to do in training?"

I shrug. "I don't know, throw some tridents. How about you? Are you going to use an axe?

She grins. "Going to chop off some Gamemaker's heads."

I laugh. Johanna's back.

"I think I"m going back to my floor for a while," she tells me.

"Any last tips, my dear Jo?" I smirk. Both the District 2 victors have already finished.

"Train shirtless," she says over her shoulder. "You'll get a 12 for sure!" I chuckle. She has a way of depressing you and cheering you up at the same time.

After half an hour I'm called in. I walk confidently even though I'm not at all feeling that way.

"Mr. Odair," Plutarch Heavensbee nods.

"Hi," I say nervously because this guy next to him is giving me this really creepy smile that is honestly freaking me out. Probably starstruck.

"Anytime you're ready," he says.

I walk out and grab a trident. I throw it as violently as I can. Actually, so hard the head of the dummy falls off. Oops.

I just keep doing that. Grab trident. Spear chest. At the end I'm sweating like crazy and the creepy guy is still giving me the creepy smile.

"You are dismissed," Plutarch says.

I nod, then leave.

Today was interesting. I've learned two things. One, Johanna has feelings and understands me better than I thought. Two, if I thought Capitol people were creepy before, I haven't seen anything yet.


	7. Another Strange Night

7.

Lars, Pearl, Mags, Aria and I are all huddled up on the sofa, watching the training scores flash past the victors' pictures.

"Mags Marianas, with a score of two," the announcer says.

"Wow Mags," I say, confused. "What did you do in training?"

"Took a nap," she responds.

"They must have liked the way you look when you're sleeping," I laugh. "To get a two!"

"Finnick Odair, with a score of eleven," the announcer continues. The room breaks into applause.

"We should celebrate!" Aria babbles in her ridiculous accent. I secretly wonder if I trained shirtless I would actually have gotten a twelve.

Most of the other tributes average a five.

"Johanna Mason, with a score of ten," the announcer says. I guess she decided to not chop off their heads after all.

"Peeta Mellark, with a score of twelve." My eyebrows shoot up. Never in the history of the Games has anyone gotten a twelve.

"Wonder what he did to get that?" Lars muses aloud.

"Katniss Everdeen, with a score of twelve."

"Something's not right with this," Pearl says, confused.

"Maybe they did something bad to make the Gamemakers single them out," Mags says.

"The singling out happened right after they pulled that berry stunt," I say without thinking. They all look at me.

"Finnick...you can't think like that! It's...forbidden!" Aria looks totally stunned. Oh right, she's not in on all of ours' little secret. Actually, Lars and Pearl aren't either. Mags said they probably would get mad and I think she had a point.

* * *

It's interview time.

Never thought I'd have to chat with Caesar Flickerman again. But it's not that bad. He's not terribly affected like a lot of the other Capitol people, and he's actually pretty nice.

The funny thing is that most of the victors are either being sarcastic or completely rebelling against the idea of the Quell. We are not going to go down without a fight.

When I'm called, thousands of people are screaming my name. Time to break out the fake smile.

We all decided to indirectly attack the Capitol. Cashmere and Gloss by telling how welcome they were in the Capitol. Wiress and Beetee by questioning the legality of it all. Me, by writing a poem to my one 'true love', even though they really don't exist. And it goes on and on. The morphlings. Blight and Johanna. Chaff and Seeder.

By the time District 12 is up, the audience is a complete mess. People are crying and shouting and it's ironic, because aren't they the ones who came up with this whole idea anyway? I have no room to feel sorry for them. In fact, it's even kind of funny.

Katniss walks up, wearing a white dress. No, not just a white dress. It's a wedding dress. And Caesar goes on about how she'll miss her wedding. And then something strange happens. She spins around, like she did last year in that orange dress. But as she's spinning, the dress starts smoking and then bursting into flames. I hear gasps from the audience. For whatever reason, she just keeps spinning anyway. And when the smoke stops, part of the dress is on the floor. Because underneath the white silk and pearls is another dress that is almost identical to the first one except it's black. She raises her arms slightly and then it hits me. She is a bird. More specifically, a mockingjay.

"Well, let's just say hats off to your stylist!" Caesar says, trying to break the awkwardness. What a lot of the Capitol people think is a flashy costume change is actually a sign of the rebellion. But from the look on Katniss' face, it doesn't look like she was aware of it.

Everyone's still entranced by the dress when the buzzer goes off.

Peeta's up now.

"So, Peeta, what went through your head when you heard the Quell announcement?" Caesar asks.

He frowns. "Here I was thinking Katniss and I would get married and she looked so beautiful in those dresses. And then..."

"You realized there would be no wedding?" Caesar asks gently.

He nods. "Caesar...do you think our friends here can keep a secret?" A nervous laugh rings out through the audience. Everyone knows almost all of Panem is watching this.

"I feel quite sure of it."

"We're already married," he says quietly. A wave of gasps bursts through the audience. "It wasn't official in our Justice Building. We were too young. Katniss' mother would never have approved." He starts talking about toasting bread...District 12 ritual I guess.

"Well, I'm glad you at least got to spend a few months together, " Caesar says.

Peeta shakes his head. "But now I wish we'd waited."

Caesar raises his eyebrows. "Surely a few months is better than none?"

"I would agree with you Caesar," Peeta says bitterly. "If it weren't for the baby."

The entire room freezes. Baby? And then people slowly start to realize...he means Katniss.

I catch Johanna's eye. Think that's true? I mouth at her, knowing she's a master of reading lips. She shakes her head.

"Well, I think all of Panem will wish you good luck." Caesar says.

The anthem starts playing, and as it does, something strange happens. First a few, and then almost every victor starts holding each others' hands. I take Mags' hand and she takes Beetee's. Then I take the woman from 5's hand. I catch a glimpse of everyone on the screen. Some of the officials look flustered, and I suddenly realize it. This is the first public show of unity between the districts, probably ever.

I've discovered something new about myself today. I like rebelling.


	8. Day One

_A/N: Sorry about how long this is. The next few chapters will probably be on the longish side too..._

* * *

8.

_60._

_That's weird. I see something moving. Is it..water?_

_50._

_It's an ocean. Is that the Cornucopia over there?_

_40._

_All the tributes are spaced evenly apart in a wheel. Weird._

_30._

_I see a trident over there!_

_20._

_I bet not many of the victors can swim_

_10._

_Better position myself._

_8._

_Breathe._

_7._

_As long as you get there first there's nothing to worry about._

_6._

_Breathe._

_5._

_Don't do anything stupid like go off before the buzzer rings._

_4._

_Breathe._

_3._

_Must get there first._

_2._

_Don't do it Finnick...DON'T DO IT!_

_1._

_Snap._

Loud buzz.

I quickly dive off to the side and swim quickly to the Cornucopia. I lunge forward and grab a trident. I go to the back of the Cornucopia to see if anyone's coming. Out of the corner of my eye I see the sand move. I snap around and see Katniss dripping and aiming an arrow at my head. Stop twitching stupid face!

"Where did you learn how to swim?" I ask her, trying to sound calm.

"We have a big bathtub," she replies. "You must like the arena," she adds. "They built it especially for you." She frowns.

_Think fast!_ I suddenly remember Haymitch's words. _Once she sees this_, he said, handing me a mockingjay bracelet,_ she'll know you're on her side_. So I run my hand through my hair in a model-like way and make sure it glints in the sunlight.

"Lucky thing we're allies, right?" I grin.

She hesitates but still looks angry. "Right!" she snaps, lowering her bow.

"Duck!" I shout suddenly as I catch sight of the District 5 tribute. Unfortunately, if we need to get Katniss out of here alive, that means killing everyone that's not in the alliance. I close my eyes as the trident hits his chest. "Don't trust 1 and 2," I tell her.

Enobaria and Gloss both come our way. Katniss gets Gloss in the leg but Enobaria ducks back in the water.

"Do something about that, will you?" I look toward Brutus barreling his way toward us. She shoots him but he blocks it with his purple belt and goes around on the opposite side of the Cornucopia.

She's looking around at all the tributes still on their circles. "Peeta!"

"You shouldn't get him...in your condition," I tell her, remembering she's supposed to be pregnant, and dive back in the water. Peeta looks kind of scared as I just grab him and take him to shore. Then I go get Mags.

"Bob," she says breathlessly, pointing to Beetee trying to make his way toward us.

"What?" Peeta asks.

"Looks like he figured it out," I show him.

"So now what?" Katniss asks, still looking somewhat annoyed. I guess no one bothered to tell her about our plan.

"We get away from the Cornucopia," I say decidedly.

We walk straight into the heart of the arena. The landscape quickly changes from sand to jungle greenery. We're walking when suddenly Katniss stops.

"I—" She says right before Peeta hits what must be a force field and bounces back. There's two seconds of silence before Katniss screams.

"PEETA!" She runs toward him and holds her head to his chest. Nothing.

I push her out of the way and pinch his nostrils shut.

"No!" She runs toward me but I smack her away strongly. No time to think about hurt feelings right now. I go back and breathe. I haven't actually done this since I was ten and we all needed to pass the CPR test for school. Okay. I push down on his chest and breathe into his mouth. Katniss must know what I'm doing now because she lowers her bow. Push. Breathe. After a few moments I hear a weak cough.

"Careful," he says weakly. "There's a force field up ahead." Katniss laughs but she's actually crying.

"You died! Your heart stopped! You—you hit—the—"

"Well, it looks like it's working now, Katniss," Peeta says, looking and sounding extremely calm.

She starts making some sort of choking sound. _Huh_. I always thought she was being fake about it but this seems...real.

"It must be her hormones. From the baby," I say, playing the pregnancy card again.

"Can you move?" I ask him. He nods, but just in case I make a staff for him, and then for Mags.

"Hey," I say to Katniss. "You knew that force field was there. How?" Did Beetee tell her about it, too?

"I can hear it," she replies. Huh? "But the funny thing is, it's only out of the ear that the Capitol surgeons reconstructed." I have almost come to the conclusion that she's lying when she goes "There! Did you hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"The buzzing. It's coming from over there," she points a few feet to the right. And then I see it. The vibrating patch. And I realize it's probably a good thing she's lying about her ear because what if the Gamemakers notice those spots and fix them?

"Well then, by all means go ahead," I tell her sarcastically.

She grabs some nuts off the tree and throws them every few steps to see where they bounce off. Mags gets some too and starts eating them. I vaguely remember the edible plants instructor telling us these were edible.

"Mags!" Katniss says. "Spit that out! They could be poisonous!"

I laugh. "Well, I guess we'll wait and see," I say, popping a few myself.

After a few hours, we decide to make camp since Mags and Peeta are worn out.

"I'm going to get water," Katniss says. I nod. Mags and I start making nets for a lean-to, and also make a few shallow bowls with some reeds we found.

Katniss returns in about an hour. "I couldn't find any water," she says, and we all groan. I mean, it's hot, humid, and just miserable here. Nothing like District 4. "But," she continues. "I did find this." She shows us a rodent-like animal with a long snout and sharp teeth.

We decide to call it a tree rat and Peeta comes up with the idea of throwing it onto the force field to cook it.

A silver parachute floats down and lands near our shelter. "How about Peeta claims it, since he died this afternoon," I say.

He takes it and finds a silver tube-like object that's curved in at the end. People offer guesses on what it is. A flute, a weapon, a bicycle part. It could be anything, really. Then Katniss sits bolt upright.

"A spile!" She exclaims. She explains how you're supposed to drill a hole in a tree and stick in the spile to get sap.

"Sap?" I ask. I have no idea what she's talking about. Then everyone realizes that there's only one thing worth having inside those trees.

"Water!" Katniss and I both say at the same time. Peeta gets the awl and pounds it into the tree. He sticks the spile in and we wait for a few moments. Then slowly, a thin stream of water comes out. Mags puts one of the bowls underneath to collect some after we've all had our fill.

We all fall asleep, until I'm awakened by a loud bong. Another. Another. There are twelve in all. I see Katniss is still awake too.

"Mean anything?" I ask her.

She shakes her head. "I have no idea."

Just as I'm about to fall asleep again, I'm awakened by a scream.


	9. What Happened in the Fog

_A/N: Sorry it's taking forever to write these chapters! I'm still trying to figure out how I want this to go, and it's my first fanfic, so..._

* * *

9.

Searing pain runs through my body. I see a white fog making its way toward us. I wake—no, force—Mags awake while Katniss does the same for Peeta. I grab my tridents and Mags and start running, with the others close behind. I almost think we can outrun the fog when something bizarre happens. My right arm starts twitching violently, and then doesn't move at all. I stare at it in horror, trying to keep moving.

"To the water!" I shout, seeing Peeta fall multiple times in back of me. My left leg has started to fail me. It's becoming harder and harder to move and Mags is getting heavier and heavier in my arm. Not to mention the pain is getting worse and worse. All of a sudden, my other leg starts to twitch and I know I'm in trouble.

"I can barely move!" Katniss shouts to us.

I keep stumbling and after the fifth time, when I try to get up, I can't. It's impossible. My whole body feels like it's burning. Katniss slumps down with Peeta, apparently faced with the same problem. In fact, we can't really do anything. Even talking sounds weird, like we can't control our throats.

"Hey look," Katniss says in a slurred voice. "The fog...stopped." I painfully move my head back and look. The fog indeed is not following us anymore, but instead building up like a wall. I have no energy to think about it but just accept it. I vaguely realize we're all still alive.

I close my eyes. I can't do anything right now. Can't sleep, but can't stay awake either, so I stay in a sort of subconscious zone. I hear splashing and Katniss murmuring but I don't know what she's saying. I almost think I'm about to fall asleep but someone nudges me with their foot. My eyes flash open. Katniss and Peeta are standing by with two large shells filled with salt water. Then, without warning, they pour it on my head. I almost black out. It's absolutely the worst pain I've ever felt in my life. I want to lash out but the thought of moving sounds horrible right now.

"It's okay Finnick, we're getting the poison out," Peeta tries to calm me down. "Look, we're all cleansed out now," he adds, pointing to Katniss and Mags nearby. "You need to let us help you otherwise you'll be no help to anybody," Katniss says somewhat rudely. I move my head a little. Unbelievably, it hurts less than it did before. Maybe the water did help it after all.

"So, about that help..." Peeta says this in a totally non-threatening way, but the thought of more salt water being poured on me by people I barely know sounds like a threat right now. I groan. I'm going to have to do this myself. I half crawl, half drag my disabled body the thirty feet to the shore. Going inside salt water has never been more difficult. Gradually, I go from my feet to my legs to my torso. I try to decide which I would hate more, the slow constant pain, or just doing it all at once. I go for the latter. I duck underwater quickly, the shock of pain making me immobile for a moment. But as time passes, it actually feels pretty good, being back in the water. I swim a little, trying to get motion back in my body. Definitely better now.

Peeta goes to get water and as he does, I notice something, or rather, hear it. Tiny footsteps. Tiny breaths. I raise my eyes and find the strangest looking creatures I've ever seen. Bright orange, with gleaming eyes. Staring right into mine. I nudge Katniss, my eyes dropping down to my feet. Something about those things make me want to look away. Katniss tightens her grip on her bow.

"Monkeys," Peeta murmurs. _Monkeys?_

Suddenly, without any warning, the monkeys attack us. It's a blur of orange, tridents, fur, arrows, and blood. There's dozens of them on the sand.

"Peeta!" Katniss screams as a monkey is inches away from his face. But it never makes it. The morphling from 6 jumps in front of him just as the monkey's fangs make its way into her heart.

* * *

_A/N: I just couldn't have Mags die!_


	10. Day Two

10.

There are scabs everywhere. I try not to think about it but the sun's been up for several hours and the combination of heat and itchiness is incredibly aggravating.

"Hey Haymitch, if you're not too drunk we could use something for our skin," Katniss shouts to the sky. Funny how in less than a minute there's a little silver pot in a silver parachute. "About time," she says, but I can hear the smile in her voice. She starts applying it on herself but the noises that are coming out of her mouth are a little...distracting.

"Shut up, I'm trying to sleep," I mumble.

"Well, if you're so bright and cheery, why don't you try some?" she asks. I prop myself up and stare at her. The ointment is an awful green color and she looks so hideous I can't help but laugh as I reach for it. I quickly find those same moans are coming out of my mouth before I can stop them. The itchiness and irritation literally vanish as I rub the stuff over me. But as I look at Katniss again, I realize that I must look just as awful.

She smirks. "Poor Finnick. Is this the first time in your life you haven't looked pretty?"

I shrug. "It must be. How have you managed it all these years?" That's kind of a joke because the non-green Katniss is actually pretty.

"Just avoid mirrors. You'll get used to it," she tells me, her green skin cracking a little. "I'm going to wake up Peeta," she adds.

"No, wait, let's do it together," I suggest. There's so little opportunity for fun left in my life even if I make it out that I might as well seize the moment. She agrees and we both place out heads in front of Peeta, who's still snoring.

"Peeta, get up!" she sings, tapping him a little.

"AHH!" he gasps, jerking away. Katniss and I fall back in the sand, laughing our heads off. As I glance over at her looking genuinely happy, I decide that Katniss Everdeen is all right. At least not as scripted and fake as I originally thought.

Peeta and Mags appear to be almost completely unaffected by the fog, as they only have a few scabs. Lucky them.

I get some shellfish and as I start shelling them, another parachute floats down. It's a loaf of bread. I turn it over in my hands, its green tint showing it's from District 4. Fourth day, first hour. I frown. Two days from now is a long time, given the fact that half of the victors are already dead. But I don't tell anyone my thoughts. Instead, I just place it next to everyone. "This will go well with the shellfish," I tell them.

As we're eating I see something red. Actually, three things red. Three people. One is walking around in circles, and one is dragging another. I look closer. The one going in circles is Wiress, the one being dragged is Beetee, and the one dragging him is walking with angry stomps that can only be Johanna's.

"Johanna!" I call out. She quickens her pace as she gets closer.

"Finnick!" She pulls Beetee closer and grabs Wiress, too.

"What happened?" Katniss asks.

"He got a knife in the back at the Cornucopia," Johanna tells us, nodding at Beetee.

"Tick, tock," Wiress whispers.

"Yeah, tick, tock. Nuts is in shock."

"What's with the red?" I ask her.

"Well, we got out of the Cornucopia. And then we were walking and blood started falling from the sky. Thick, hot blood. You couldn't speak without getting a mouthful. And you couldn't see either. That's when Blight hit the force field."

"I'm sorry," I say.

"Tick, tock..." Wiress repeats. "Tick—" Johanna shoves her on the ground.

"Lay off!" Katniss shouts. Johanna's eyes narrow. Uh oh.

"Lay off?" she hisses, stepping toward Katniss. "Who do you think got them for you? Who do you—" I grab her before she can do any more further damage and plunge her in the water. Somewhere between the splashing and the swearing I think I hear 'rip your throat out'. I don't know whether that's directed at Katniss or me. I do know that she risked a lot to get Beetee and Wiress out of the bloodbath and we really do owe her for that.

Johanna goes off a few hundred feet away to sulk. Katniss turns to me.

"What did she mean, that she got them out for me?"

_To save your life._ "Because Haymitch said if you two were to be allies, you wanted District 3 too."

"Oh."

Katniss cleans up Beetee and Wiress. I can't help but notice the cylinder of wire that Beetee has had a death grip since he's been here.

"I'm going to take a nap," Mags says. I notice this is the first thing she's said the whole day. Since we can't move while she's sleeping, I decide to take one too.

"Tick tock, tick tock."

I'm almost asleep.

"Tick, tock."

_Bong! Bong! Bong!_ Twelve again. What does it mean?


	11. Day Two and a Half

_A/N: The second day is so long, so I thought I'd divvy it up!_

* * *

11.

_It's a clock_. It starts with Katniss stating it quietly and starts circulating throughout our camp. But it doesn't make sense. A clock?

"It starts at midnight," Wiress murmurs. Midnight. And then I remember. The fog started at midnight. At least, I think that's what the bongs were now.

"You were very smart to figure that out, Wiress," Katniss approvingly. I make a mental note to listen to whatever Wiress has to say from now on.

Peeta gets a large leaf and a pointed stick, etches a circle onto it, and divides it up in twelve sections, adding 'fog' in the twelfth section, and 'monkeys' in the first section.

"Don't forget to add the wave at 10:00," Katniss adds.

"Now what?" Peeta asks.

"We go back to the Cornucopia," I say decidedly.

"What do we do with...this?" Katniss asks, pointing to the coil of wire. I tense.

Johanna, who has now rejoined our group, says, "Oh, that thing? Beetee risked his life to get that out of the Cornucopia. How he got the knife in the back. But I don't know why he would have wanted it. I mean, he could garotte somebody, but could you imagine Beetee garotting people?" I shoot her a look that says _'you are SO obvious_'. She seems to get the message because she doesn't say anything more.

"He won his Games by setting up that electrical trap. It's the best weapon he could have," Peeta notes.

We walk to the Cornucopia. It's not that far. In fact, we could probably walk around the whole arena in less than an hour. I pick through the weapons. I lost my tridents in the fog, so I get another one. Katniss gets more arrows. Peeta gets a knife. Does he actually know how to use one? Wiress and Beetee get nothing. Johanna disappears for a while, until I get closer to the mouth and hear a sharp whizzing. Then a clang. I peer out cautiously and find an axe dug into the sun-softened gold of the Cornucopia. _Wow_.

Katniss is standing with her head cocked for a few seconds. Then her eyes widen in alarm. Right before Gloss comes barreling into the Cornucopia with a sword. Before I have time to react, he's already lying dead with an arrow in his head.

"Get down!" Johanna shouts as Cashmere comes running. In less than a second, an axe is buried in her chest. Johanna goes and yanks it out. Out of the corner of my eye I see Brutus and Enobaria approaching. And then something crazy happens. The arena, or at least the Cornucopia, start spinning. At first slowly, and then so fast everything is a sandy blur. And then, just as suddenly, it stops. And Brutus and Enobaria are nowhere to be found.

"Everyone okay?" I ask as I scoop sand out of my mouth. "Everyone still here?"

"No," Mags says as she points to Beetee in the water. I dive in and get him as he's still holding the spool of wire.

"Now what?" Johanna snaps.

"Let's go back to the forested area..." I say uncertainly. My previous idea to go to the Cornucopia turned out not to be great, so I don't know.

Wiress starts singing something.

_Three little mice decided to play_

_Up on the clock in a curious way_

_They turned the hands of time and ran_

_And so the clock's tick tock began_

Weird. But it seems to make her happy so I turn away.

We continue through the forest. I poke around the plants. They're not just green like normal vines are, but purple and blue and burgundy.

Katniss clears her throat. "So maybe we should—" but stops as a girl's voice screams her name. She bolts off toward it. "Prim!" she screams. "Prim!" I look at everyone with confusion on my face until I hear something that sends chills down my spine. Annie screaming.

"Annie!" I scream, running toward her voice. I see Katniss a few feet in front of me. "Prim!" she screams again, her eyes searching the forest wildly. And then she stops screaming and grabs her bow. She aims for a tree. The tree is screaming? No, she's aiming for a bird on the branch. This must be a jabberjay. I can't remember every seeing one. I thought they all died out after the Dark Days. And Annie's voice is spewing right out of its mouth but gets cut off as an arrow gets buried in its head.

"It's okay, Finnick. It's not your...Annie."

And then something in me snaps. "No, it's not Annie. But where do you think they got her voice from?" Katniss' eyes widen.

"You don't think they..."

"Yes, I do," I say, my voice shaking. What are they doing to her to get those noises? And then I hear her voice again. Coming from a different bird. Katniss shoots it. But then another one comes. And another. Soon there are dozens of them flocking around us. Every tine someone screams Katniss' name, she looks closer to tears. "Gale!" she shouts. I cover my ears. I can't hear this anymore. Katniss runs around frantically, trying to get away from the birds. And then gets flung back. I walk closer. No, not flung back. There's a wall. Not a force field. I can reach out and touch it, like glass. But it's thick and, judging from how everyone else is pounding on the opposite side, impenetrable. I close my eyes, trying to block out the cries of pain. After what seems like an eternity, it stops.

"Are you okay?" Peeta whispers to us. The barrier is down too.

"Those screams..." Katniss says, staring straight ahead at nothing.

"I heard it. The first one. Prim."

"They're torturing her," she says in a daze.

"No. Not real. They wouldn't do that. We're down to the final ten. What do they usually do now? Interview our families. They're fake voices. And everyone loves Prim so much anyway. It wouldn't sit well with the audience," he says quickly, obviously trying to make her feel better.

"Can they do that?" I ask slowly. The idea of them generating voices never occurred to me.

"They definitely can," Beetee tells me. "Our children in our district learn a similar technique in school."

"Oh."

There's silence for a while.

"How long was it?" I ask.

"An hour. It must have been one of the wedges," Beetee says.

More silence. And then a silver parachute floats down. I reach for it. It's more bread. Rolls, actually.

"Are these from your district, Beetee?" I ask. He nods, his eyes meeting mine. District 3. Twenty-four rolls. Third day, twenty-fourth hour. Fourth day, first hour. Both mean the same thing. Midnight._ It all starts at midnight._

We split them up and eat silently. It's starting to get dark out. Too quickly, it seems. I volunteer as guard tonight. I just need time to think. As everyone starts drifting off, I find a place around a hundred feet off.

For the first time, I allow myself to relax a little. My eyes wander around the jungle, graze over the shimmering water farther away. They make their way up to the sky. I crane my neck, trying to find the constellations that are so visible at home. But as I look closer, I realize that the stars are too uniformly sized, too equally spaced apart, just like polka dots. I turn away in disgust. Even the very stars we're under aren't real.

But nothing in the Capitol is real.

* * *

_A/N: Had to let Wiress live too! Trying to remember how the book went but some of this might not be in perfect chronology so..yeah!_


	12. Day Three

12.

I'm uneasy as I watch Katniss talking with Peeta. I can't hear what they're saying, but I have a feeling it has to do with leaving the alliance. Who would stay in it when there's only three non-alliance tributes left, anyway? But they can't leave. That would ruin everything. I'm caught up in how I should work this out when Katniss calls me over.

"Hey, Finnick, I found a way to make you look pretty again!" She's scrubbing off the green scabs with sand. I almost forgot what she looked like being non-green.

I scrub off the ointment, the fresh skin underneath looking red and irritated. Kind of like sunburns back in District 4.

"Maybe you should put some more on" she suggests, taking in my raw skin. I shake my head vigorously. There's no way I'm going to slather more olive green grossness on me.

Beetee gathers us together. "I think we'll all agree our next step is to kill Brutus and Enobaria," he says mildly, "So I have devised a plan that will get them." I notice how he's choosing his words very carefully, so as not to set off any suspicion from Katniss or Peeta. "Where is the safest location in the arena?" he asks.

"Where we are, on the beach," Katniss answers.

"So why aren't they on the beach?"

"Because we're here," Johanna says, exasperated.

"Exactly. So my plan is after the lightning strike at noon, we will wind this wire," he says gesturing toward the coil he's never let go of, "Around the beach and the lightning tree before the lightning strike at midnight. Of course, the beach will still be wet from the ten o'clock wave. And salt water is highly conductive."

"You're going to electrocute the arena?" Peeta asks slowly. Beetee nods.

"What about food?" I ask, trying to look curious.

"We have sponsors. The seafood will probably be more than cooked, but we've been getting bread." The ever-important bread.

"How do you know if it's going to work?" Katniss asks.

"Because I invented it," Beetee says, then bites his lip. I don't think that was supposed to come out. "Because this isn't real wire, just like these trees aren't real trees. You know more about trees than any of us, Johanna. You can tell us these aren't real." That was possibly the worst excuse I've ever heard but Johanna has the sense to agree. "So what do you say? Want to give it a go?" he asks, already knowing most of our answers.

"Sure," I say.

"Fine," Johanna says.

"Okay," Wiress whispers

"Why not," Mags says. I notice how everyone tries to look like they just heard about the plan right now. Cautious. Tentative.

"Um...sure," Peeta says, glancing at Katniss, who's staring at the ground.

"Might as well try it," Katniss says tentatively raising her head.

Beetee fine tunes the weapon while Peeta draws another clock on a leaf, adding JJ for the jabberjays.

Mags weaves a net and then we collect seafood, just in case the plan doesn't work. I pry open an oyster and find a surprise. A pearl. I've only seen one in an oyster once, when my father discovered it. I walk over to Katniss, who looks a little out of it again. "For you," I tell her, knowing Johanna wouldn't care if it was a pearl or a lump of coal.

She looks up at me with a ghost of a smile on her lips. "Thanks."

Soon the wave floods over the beach while we watch from the jungle.

And after waiting two hours, it comes. Twelve bongs. Lightning strike. It's go time.

* * *

_A/N: Starting to switch things up a little now!_


	13. Twelve to Twelve

_A/N: This chapter was difficult to write because I'm not really sure what was going on in the book even from Katniss' point of view and now I have to write it in Finnick's!_

* * *

13.

"Make sure to stay away from the beach until the next wave," Beetee says over his shoulder. We've been winding the wire around trees and some parts of the jungle floor for the whole afternoon. The only place we have to do now is the beach, the lightning tree, and a few hundred feet more of the jungle. "Make the wire closer together," he adds, nodding at our pattern of wire.

I sigh. This is way more complicated than I expected. I thought we would just throw the wire down and wait. But that's not how Beetee wants it. He wants us to lay it out in some intricate map that looks more like lace than it does a weapon. I know he's injured, but I kind of envy him, Wiress, and Mags who are resting nearby while the rest of us have been slaving over this.

"Are we done here?" Johanna snaps, obviously exasperated with this tedious job.

"I guess we can take a break, since the wave won't be for another..." Beetee pauses, muttering under his breath. "Four hours...thirteen minutes." I can tell estimation's not really his thing.

It's getting dark again. I look back at Johanna, who's rolling her eyes at Wiress singing the clock song again. Peeta's who's fiddling with the wire still. Katniss who's staring at another chink in the force field. Mags is popping more nuts. Beetee is wrapped up in his plan. Now the only thing to do is wait.

* * *

The wave recedes back into the rest of the sea. It's impossible to see in this darkness. "Remember," Beetee whispers to me. "Wiress and Mags will stay with me, you go with Peeta, and Johanna will go with Katniss." I nod. Just as planned.

"Peeta, can you help me check the wire over by the tree?" I ask him. He naively agrees.

"And we need to lay the wire," Johanna says to Katniss. She nods, and they head off in the opposite direction.

I'm making up excuses, like "It might be cut over there," or "it needs to be touching the water," when I realize Peeta has disappeared. I'm in a panic, but it's too risky to call out his name. My eyes are searching wildly when I hear a cannon. _Oh no_.

I run up the hill back to where Katniss and Johanna were supposed to be.

"Katniss?" I ask, knowing certainly Brutus and Enobaria have gotten someone.

I see Beetee slumped to one side right by the lightning tree with the wire attached to the knife. Luckily, he's behind a thicket of grass so nobody can easily see him.

"Get Odair," I hear Brutus' sharp voice ring out nearby. I duck underneath a patch of vines, catching sight of him and Enobaria pacing just a few steps in front of me.

"Where did everyone go?" Enobaria hisses. I'm wondering the same thing. They run off to the other side of the arena. Everything else happens in fragments. Johanna running toward them with blood on her hand. Peeta nowhere to be found. Beetee mumbling something. Catching sight of Wiress and knowing Mags must be safe too. And then out of nowhere, Katniss is there right by Beetee with her bow. She attaches the knife to her arrow. Lightning hits the tree. Just as it does, the knife leaves the bow and in one brilliant flash, the arena explodes.

Blackness engulfs my mind.


	14. Author's Note

_Okay! Since the first part is done now and things are going to be a little different, I think I'm going to split up the POVs between Katniss and Finnick. So the even chapters (like 14) will be Finnick's and the odd ones (like 15) will be Katniss'...if that makes any sense!_

_Since the next chapter is 15 (I'll count this A/N as a chapter), it'll start with Katniss first._

_So yeah! Thank you for all your reviews and I hope you enjoy the rest of this!_


	15. Up in the Air

15.

I'm in a hovercraft I didn't know existed going to a district I thought obliterated. Right across from me is a Gamemaker I thought I hated. Now I'm part of a cause I thought futile, next to a mentor I thought my ally. Then there are the people that may or may not have been my allies. Wiress, Beetee, Mags, Finnick, Johanna. Wiress is sitting next to me. Beetee has at least five machines hooked up to him. Mags is on the other end of the hovercraft, sitting silent. Finnick is by Beetee in the hospital wing of the craft.

"He had...somewhat of a breakdown," Plutarch Heavensbee says. The Gamemaker who fell into the punch bowl. The person I danced with on the victory tour. A breakdown? All I know is he started shaking violently and started lashing out nothing but the air. That was before he got shot with sedative. _A breakdown._ I feel on the verge of one myself. "The sedative might make him lose his memory," he adds. Memory. What did he know? What did he not tell me? What did Haymitch not tell me?

"Tell me what I need to know," I say weakly, looking at Haymitch. He frowns. "Now!" I shout loudly, my hands balling into fists.

"They got Peeta," he tells me slowly. Peeta. The only real ally I had. "And Johanna and Enobaria," he adds. Enobaria I could care less about, but I'm still wondering about Johanna. Was she actually my ally all along?

"So here's what happened," Plutarch explains. Ever since the Quell was announced there was a secret plot to break us all out of the arena. Districts 3,4,6,7,8 and 11 all had various degrees of knowledge about it. For several years Plutarch had been part of an organization that was planning to overthrow the President. The wire was placed in the Cornucopia purposely so Beetee could break us out. What was supposed to be a weapon against the tributes was actually a weapon used against the Capitol. There is no District 12 anymore. Nothing but rubble and corpses. The people I killed once I pulled that arrow. Everything was bombed right after we broke out of the arena. And that's not the only part. The elusive District 13 not only exists, but creates nuclear weapons. They could have helped us from the start. And the Capitol knew about it the entire time. My hands are shaking, pulse getting faster.

"We're taking you there now," he adds._ District 13_. The place that I thought never existed after the Dark Days.

"We're going to try to get Peeta out," he tells me reassuringly. As if. Any comfort, any peace, even sanity has long since left my very being. "None of this was your fault." _My fault._

"Yes!" I scream, my hands going into tremors that soon overtake my whole body. "If it wasn't—he would have—none of this would—It was my fault!" I lunge toward Haymitch, the first person I'm angry with, and my hands claw at his face wildly. This is it. A breakdown. And then I feel a sharp pain in my arm right before I pass out from the sedative.


	16. Where am I?

16.

The blurry room comes into focus. Where am I? I hear beeping. I hear footsteps. I hear voices. I scratch my head, confused, and that's when I see the IV. This must be a hospital. But where? All I remember is the arena exploding and then everything went black. Where did everyone go? I look around the room. Everything is gray. Everything smells sterile.

Footsteps. More footsteps. Wait for someone to come in. Keep waiting. Stop expecting someone to come in. Don't think about Katniss. Don't think about Peeta. Don't think about Beetee. Don't think about Wiress. Don't think about Mags. Don't think about Johanna. Don't think about the rebellion. Take a nap. Take another nap. Stare at the ceiling. Don't think about home. Don't think about the Hunger Games. Go to sleep. Go back to sleep. Stare at the ceiling again. Trace over the IV for the hundredth time. Stop looking at the door. Stop thinking about the beeping machine. Stop trying to hear the voices outside of the door. Go back to sleep. Don't think about home. Don't think about Annie. Don't think about anything. Go back to sleep.

Next thing I know I see a girl come into my room. Blond hair, blue eyes. She looks vaguely familiar. She punches something into the machine and it stops beeping.

"Hello," she says with a friendly smile. "How are you feeling?"

I shake my head. My throat hurts and the thought of talking seems impossible right now.

"Hmm...you're swallowing strangely. Must be your throat. Here, this should help." She shoves some liquid down my throat.

"Hey, stop!" I shout angrily. I now know how it feels to drown.

"So your throat is fine after all!" she chatters happily.

"Do you know who I am?" I say, trying to sound threatening and failing.

"I don't know who you are, only what you pretended to be," she says. "I only know that you didn't kill my sister, you saved Peeta, you're good at fishing, and you're good at CPR."

"Who's your sister?" I ask.

"Katniss."

"Oh." I ponder for a moment. "Then why do you look so much like Peeta?" She looks like someone else I used to know but I don't feel like mentioning that right now.

She shrugs. "It's how most people from town look. Katniss looks like she's from the Seam." The Seam? Must be like the section of town we call the Quay. The part right near the wharf.

"How long have I been here?"

"Four days. You were knocked out." She notices my puzzled expression. "Amnesia," she diagnoses.

"What did I forget?" I ask confusedly.

"Um...I don't think I'm supposed to tell you. I think Haymitch might be coming in later." She bites her lip.

"Tell me one more thing. What did you mean by 'what I pretended to be'?"

She hesitates. "Whenever Katniss has an interview or something, she has the same exact smile. Kind of fake but...scared." Katniss' little sister, who I've known for about eight minutes, just called me fake. Lovely. But it is true so I'll give her that.

"Hmm...you seem smart kid. Can you tell me where I am?"

"You're in District 13." District 13?


	17. No One Left

17.

"Katniss...are you okay down there?" Gale probably thinks I'm having another breakdown. The hunched position I'm in, with my head in my hands, is not helping.

"No, I'm fine." I raise myself back up and pull myself back together, forcing my face into an indifferent expression. Trying to convince everyone that I _am_ fine. I start walking back to where the hovercraft should land, but then remember something. I go back to our house in Victor's Village, the only part of District 12 that was not obliterated in the bombings.

I push open the wooden door, running my hand down the frame. The feel of wood has become unfamiliar to me. In District 13, everything is metal. Gray and lifeless. I get my father's hunting jacket, my game bag, the book of edible plants, and wedding photograph of my parents. As I turn, the hairs on my neck begin to raise for some unknown reason. Why? There's nobody here. They're either dead or the lucky few made it to District 13. Maybe it was a sound. But what would make that sound? Animals? They're in the forest. And then I hear a skitter of nails on the wooden floor, and spy Buttercup's scruffy yellow fur hiding under Prim's bed.

"Here, boy," I coax, holding my hand out toward him. His squash-yellow eyes watch me distrustfully. It's no use. He won't be coming out for me.

"Want to see Prim?" I try again. His ears perk up at the mention of Prim's name. He peers out and cautiously steps toward me. I grab him and stuff him into the game bag, ignoring the temperamental screeches within. But even though I know that there's no life here anymore, I find my fear has not gone away. If anything, it's increased. I go back into the hallway, my eyes searching for any clue of what's confusing me. And then I see it. The rose. The rose with the sickeningly sweet smell. The rose that President Snow wears in his lapel. The smell that is mixed with blood. The same smell that was here, in this house, right before the Victory Tour. The white rose that speaks volumes. I stare at it in horror. I know that it was put there specifically for me. Nobody else would understand what it means to me or what it does to me. I step back, knocking into a lamp, hearing it smash. I need to leave now. Before I have another breakdown. I run back down the stairs, shove the door open, and gasp the fresh air like I'm suffocating.

I walk quickly back to the landing site, trying to keep my eyes straight ahead. Not like it does much good. There's death all around me, no matter where I look. I accidentally step on a rock, only it's not a rock. It's a skull. The holes where the eyes should be haunt me. Who is it? Or who was it? I find that I have no desire to know. I only know I'm never going to be able to unthink it or undo it.

The door of the hovercraft opens and I plop down in the first available seat, Buttercup still meowing furiously in the game bag, trying to scratch through the leather. I smack it, hear a faint meow, and then he decides to cut it out.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Plutarch asks me, looking at my full arms. I nod. I don't feel like talking right now. Or maybe ever. So instead I just stare stonily out the window, trying to focus on the trees and not the meadow or the town or the Seam. Trying to block out all the blackened houses, the smoke still rising faintly from the mines. Trying to block out the screams I hear in my head. Trying to tell myself that there's no point anyway. There's no one left. No one at all.


	18. Getting Back Into Things

18.

I've been at the hospital for over a month now. I haven't been allowed to leave my room, but Haymitch and Plutarch have been filling me in on what I missed. I catch snippets of information. The arena was meant to blow up. This is part of the rebellion. And it's happening right now. But there's so much going on that it's really hard to concentrate on it all.

I zone in and out of consciousness. Days pass by in a blur. No one comes to visit consistently except that girl. I learn her name is Primrose.

"How are you feeling?" she asks, walking in with a tray. That's been her daily question.

"Fine," I say unenthusiastically.

She frowns. "I don't know a worse word to describe you right now than fine."

I open my mouth in protest, but then I realize she's right. I am not fine.

"So what would be a better word?" she asks me. "Confused? Exhausted? Depressed?" _Actually, yes, thanks for asking. _

"What are you, anyway? Some kind of head doctor?"

"They're training me to be a medic," she tells me.

"So I'm your patient?" I ask, stifling a smile. The idea of a girl who's almost ten years younger than me being my caretaker fills me with silent mirth.

"Kind of..." she trails off, looking down at the tray that's still in her hands. "They're going to transfer you to your own compartment," she says finally.

"Really?" I ask, my eyebrows raised. After days of nobody coming in they're suddenly going to release me?

"Yes, but if they do, you have to wear this," she says, fumbling with something on the tray. I peer at the thing that's in her hand. A bracelet. That says _mentally disoriented. _How nice. "It's the best I could do," she apologizes, looking at my slightly offended face.

"Why do I have to wear that thing?" I ask her.

"Plutarch says you've been having some...difficulty concentrating," she says carefully.

"And?" I ask, knowing there must be something more than that.

"Um...Haymitch said you had...a bit of a...moment." She bites her lip.

"Oh."

"So what do you say?" she asks me, obviously trying to steer the conversation away from the topic of my mental instability. "Up for being transferred?"

"Anything to leave the hospital," I reply, then catching sight of her white uniform, add "No offense."

"None taken," she replies with a smile. "Oh, one more thing before I go. Instead of going to a head doctor, they want you to do some sort of rope therapy." _Rope therapy?_ She tosses a length of thin rope about a foot long onto my lap. "You're supposed to tie knots with it," she says, looking at my puzzled face.

"Um...what's the point of that?" I ask her. It really makes no sense to me.

"I don't know exactly, but it's better then going to a therapist, right?" _If you say so._

She places the tray of food down on the table next to the hospital bed. "I should go. You're going to be transferred tomorrow morning."

Once she leaves I wonder about the plastic bracelet that's now on my wrist. Am I mentally disoriented? Haymitch said I had a "moment" which, coming from him, means I probably went insane.

* * *

The rope does magical things. A water-knot-double-sheet-bend-timber-hitch-splice combo. And it all unravels with one pull of the end. And it starts up again. I'm in the process of creating a double-noose when someone clears their throat in the doorway.

"They say you're moving out tomorrow." I try to place the guy that's saying this. I feel like I've seen him before. I look closer at the dark hair and gray eyes and then it hits me. Katniss' cousin. Or, judging from the way he always frowns on TV, not her cousin.

"Um, yes," I reply, kind of startled from this strange greeting. He didn't even ask my name. Maybe he already knew it?

"And you're going to be at the meeting tomorrow?"

"What meeting? I ask him.

"Katniss is going to announce she's going to be the Mockingjay." _Oh._ I guess all our planning of getting her out of the arena did amount to something after all.

"Only if I'm invited," I reply cautiously.

His laugh sounds steely. "Everyone's supposed to be there."_ Thank you for letting me know, kind person._

_"_Sure, I'll be there."

"Are you going to go to Command after? They're always looking for new soldiers."

"I don't think I'm supposed to..." I say uncertainly, looking down at my wrist again. "They told me to lay low for now."

"So you're not going to fight?" he asks me, obviously disappointed.

"Not right now. Unless they clear me."

He frowns. "So you're not going to do anything?"

This rubs me the wrong way. "I did actually do something. I helped break out most of us from the arena, and they're all still alive, including your cousin."

His face hardens. "Katniss is not my cousin." _Oops. _"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," he says, turning to walk back into the hallway.

On second thought, I add, "Sorry, I didn't catch your name."

He turns. "Gale."

_Gale. _I already don't like him.

* * *

_A/N: Things are starting to heat up!_

_You know what I **LOVE**? Reviews! Love it? Hate it? Just tell me._

_You know what I like even more than praise? Constructive criticism. Tell me some things I should work on. I'd definitely appreciate it._

_Thanks for reading and have a lovely day!_


End file.
